The academic health system unveiled plans Monday at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting to build a 116,000-square-foot, multi-specialty facility that would provide premier specialty and subspecialty care for adults and children in Northwest Indiana beginning in 2023.
In the coming months, UChicago Medicine is looking to begin construction on a large outpatient center in the city’s Beacon Hill Development District.
Situated on the northwest corner of 109th Avenue and Interstate 65, the multi-specialty care center would be located on 46 acres.
During a Monday evening meeting, the Crown Point Board of Zoning Appeals in a unanimous 5-0 vote sent a favorable recommendation to the Crown Point City Council for the development. The Council is set to consider the matter at its Nov. 1 meeting. The Board also approved various variances for the project.
The development will then appear before the Crown Point Plan Commission for final approval, with work to begin in early 2022 following all necessary approvals.
The facility could open as soon as spring 2023 and will create about 150 new jobs in clinical and nonclinical roles.
Hospital leadership anticipates providing care to an estimated 110,000 patients a year at the Crown Point care center, which would be the academic health system’s largest off-site facility.
As proposed, the care center includes a micro-hospital featuring an emergency department and a short-stay inpatient unit; a comprehensive cancer center; a medical office building staffed by experts in cancer, cardiology, digestive diseases, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, transplant medicine and women’s health; imaging, infusion and laboratory services; and an outpatient surgery center.
Crown Point Mayor David Uran said the project furthers the city’s identity as a destination for professional development centers and quality medical career employment opportunities. This project checks a lot of boxes when it comes to quality-of-life investment for Crown Point and Northwest Indiana overall.
"This complements the investments that Franciscan Health, Lakeshore Bone & Joint and Community and Methodist hospitals are already making here in Crown Point," Uran said. "Crown Point has become a beacon for all your medical needs across the board."
Audre Bagnall, University of Chicago Medicine executive vice president of business development and chief strategy officer, emphasized during the meeting UChicago Medicine doesn’t want to compete with local health care providers.
“It is our intention to partner with them to ensure a continuum of care for the patient,” Bagnall said. “We will collaborate with other health care providers in the area that complement our strengths to provide an integrated and seamless experience for patients.”
“UChicago Medicine’s reputation for providing high-quality care and for bringing research to the bedside is built around the concept that a multidisciplinary approach — specialists and subspecialists working together with community physicians and health systems — is best for patient care and for treating complex diseases and conditions,” said Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, Dean and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Chicago. “The proposed facility would allow our physicians to collaborate with community providers to deliver an integrated and seamless experience for patients who need convenient access to advanced care, clinical trials, and the latest diagnostic and treatment options.”
About 15% of Northwest Indiana residents travel outside of the Region to get medical care. Of those patients, roughly 1 in 5 go to UChicago Medicine’s facilities in and near Chicago. In addition, roughly 10% of UChicago Medicine employees live in Northwest Indiana.
“The Northwest Indiana community is important to us, particularly since so many of our patients and employees call this region home,” said Tom Jackiewicz, President of the University of Chicago Medical Center and Chief Operating Officer of the UChicago Medicine health system. “Many of our patients spend time traveling to and from Northwest Indiana to reach our facilities to get the care they need. Our proposed facility would make the lives of our patients a little easier.”
Based in Chicago’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side, UChicago Medicine already provides specialty care in Merrillville, Munster and Schererville. Those locations are in addition to UChicago Medicine’s integrated care network of 10 ambulatory care facilities and several dozen clinic sites across the Chicagoland area.
FAST FACTS: UCHICAGO MEDICINE CROWN POINT FACILITY
- Location: near I-65 and 109th Avenue in Crown Point’s Beacon Hill Development District
- Size of facility: 116,000 square feet
- Healthcare services to be offered:
- Micro-hospital, with an emergency department and a short-stay inpatient unit
- Imaging center, with MRI, CT, PET, X-ray and ultrasound capabilities
- Ambulatory surgery center
- Laboratory and imaging facilities
- Medical office clinic with access to specialists and subspecialists
- Access to 8 clinical centers of excellence: Comprehensive Cancer Center, Digestive Diseases, Heart & Vascular, Neurosciences, Orthopedic Surgery, Pediatrics, Transplant, Women’s Health
- Estimate number of patient visits each year: 110,000
- Number of jobs created: at least 150
- Anticipated timing: construction in early 2022 and opening in spring 2023
